Buffy didn't remember running home as her thoughts had been on 'freak out' mode.
All she knew was that the last thing she expected was to see Faith and Spike approach the house at the same time.
Spike hadn't even glanced at her as he jerked open the front door with a 'MUM!' being screamed out.
"JOYCE!" Faith screamed as she ran towards the couch where Joyce lay cradling her head.
"Oh Faith…please don't scream. This headache just came out of…Buffy! Sweetheart what are you doing here?!" Joyce said as she found herself surrounded by the worried trio.
"Are you alright?!" Buffy asked immediately crouching down and inspecting her mother.
It was what Spike had feared when Joyce had started to say she was having small headaches when the whole Jonathan spell had begun.
He knew that he needed to act quickly before the tumor in Joyce's brain could grow.
"Best have soldier boy get her looked at by his doctors." Spike said as he moved to help Joyce stand up.
"But it's just a small…" Joyce had been about to protest when the look Spike gave her made her close her mouth and understand that what he was doing was beyond important.
It only took a few milliseconds to understand that whatever had killed her in the future was why Spike was having her go to the doctor now.
And the pieces of the puzzle fell into place after that information sunk in.
A tumor.
She had died from a tumor…or something of the sort.
With a little nod looking at Spike and not at Buffy who was literally glued to her side she said, "Alright. I'll see what the doctors say."
"I'm going too mum. Not about to let those soldier boys start poking and prodding without me to make sure everything is being done on the up and up. Don't want them missing anything or doing something they shouldn't." Spike informed and when he saw that Joyce was about to lose her balance he quickly swung her up into his arms.
"Oh Spike really! I can walk! No need to carry me." Joyce protested immediately as Spike began walking her to the front door with an open mouthed Buffy right behind them.
"Ah ah ah…no arguing with me young lady. How many headaches have you had in the last few weeks?" Spike asked distracting her as she thought while he began carrying her down the road and towards Lowell House where he knew Soldier Boy and the entrance to the underground lab was.
"Are you planning on carrying me the entire way?!" Joyce exclaimed on the last word.
"Bloody right I am. Not lettin' you out of my sight either." Spike said as he didn't stop to know both Faith and Buffy were one step behind him.
Buffy didn't remember the actual walk to the sorority house. Let alone what she said to Riley to convince him to let Spike into the lab with her mother.
All she knew was Spike had not let go of her hand or been away from her mother's side for more than five seconds.
Riley had to convince his soldiers to stand down with Spike there but eight words from Joyce had even Riley stop any kind of aggression towards the vampire.
"Spike is like the son I never had."
It was the way she had said it as he had insulted Spike with the look of disgust on her face that made him realize he may have overstepped.
He didn't want to upset Buffy's mom after all.
Riley also felt incredibly awkward with the way the brunette girl was looking at him, but he couldn't even speak with Buffy as she was on the other side of her mother right along with Spike.
"Mrs. Summers…as I've said the headaches could be nothing…"
Spike growled but stayed in his human face as he grit his teeth and said…"Up until an hour ago everyone was under a spell that the whole town was under for weeks. The whole time she said she had headaches. Do you really need more evidence to have a look and see if it's correlated?"
Buffy would have grabbed the man and just threatened him and was suddenly grateful that Spike was the one talking. Maybe for the first time ever!
The doctor looked at Riley who gave a small nod and with a sigh explained that the two of them had to step away for him to run his scan.
Spike was right behind the doctor…knowing that he would need to spot where the shadow would show up on her scan.
He waited…and waited…and anyone that knew him that was not his specialty. The second he scan appeared he wanted to shout 'THERE! BLOODY RIGHT THERE!', but he knew he couldn't.
The moment the doctor's finger went to that part of her brain he felt like jumping up and down.
"There? The shadowy thing? That's what's causing the headaches?" Spike said but was pushed to the side by Buffy who was about to open her mouth with questions when the doctor said words that froze her.
"It's a good thing you brought her here." The doctor turned and gave an upward nod for Agent Finn to come towards him.
Riley looked a little shocked but immediately walked towards the doctor.
Spike though knew he had done his part and immediately went back toward Joyce who had been holding on to Faith's hand as she waited on the MRI machine.
"Did they find it?" Whispered Joyce.
Faith furrowed her brow at the question, but knew something was definitely up when Spike said "Yeah."
Joyce shivered and both Faith and Spike felt it.
Spike knelt down as he continued to hold Joyce's hand. "Don't worry mum. We're here for you…not going anywhere…I promise."
Joyce just nodded her head and gave a little smile to Spike.
"Thank you William."
The soft smile he gave her was so sweet Joyce couldn't help but cup his face.
Faith couldn't help but ruin the moment with a quip, "Should thank him for killing whatever demon that Johnathan kid was using to keep that spell going. How the hell did you know it was a spell when everyone else didn't?"
Joyce shared a little smirk with Spike who looked over at Faith with a shit eating grin. "Demon pet. Could see through whatever magic the little boy cooked up."
"Speaking of…can I go pound his face in for the way he made me…feel…about him?" Faith asked haltingly as she looked at how interesting her nails were and not up at Spike or Joyce.
"Noooo. The boy's still a boy. Doen't have any friends. Least I don't think he does. Know he's been through a lot though. To do what he did…he must feel all alone." Spike gave a look up from beneath his lashes at Faith to make her get exactly what he meant.
Faith knew immediately that Spike meant Johnathan was exactly like her…especially with her actions…but still…
"Can't I at least make him think I'm going to punch his lungs in?!" Faith half joked whining slightly with a full on smile on her face.
"Faith! Remember what I said about unnecessary violence?" Joyce asked after a small little laugh and sobering her face.
"That it's unnecessary?" Faith smarted off with a twisted little smirk.
"Oi! Don't go upsettin' mum! She's upset free now…um…well…you know what I mean!" Spike stumbled on his words as he realized his own stupidity.
Suddenly hands were grabbing him and slamming him against the wall.
"BUFFY!" "B!" The twin shout of the women that cared for Spike rang out.
The arm against his throat cut off any air he would have pulled in, and the look of fire in Buffy's eyes as she looked at him made him realize that he was staring into hers.
He vamped…out of fear that she could see the soul and watched as the shock formed on her face.
Why she looked so shocked he couldn't say. She had seen him transform many a time. Yet her face almost seemed wounded at the sight of it.
"Buffy let Spike go!" Joyce began to get up from the scanner's platform though Faith tried to keep her on it by trying to hold her, but one look from Joyce and Faith raised both hands up in surrender.
"Mom stay out of this!" Buffy said without looking back at her mother as she continued to glare at Spike.
"Mum don't worry your pretty little head. The Slayer's not gonna do a thing to me." Spike said with a smile.
"That's right. Because the Initiative is taking him back to be studied." Riley said as he moved to stand behind Buffy.
Buffy hearing the words let go of Spike almost immediately and whirled around to face Riley.
She may think that Spike was dangerous and above all could not be trusted...but it was another thing to allow The Initiative a master vampire to manipulate to do God knows what.
"Hey Mr. Goodie Two Shoe's….if it wasn't for Spike we wouldn't know that Joyce was sick! Hell without him she might have been dead if he hadn't stopped Jonathan." Faith said as she stepped towards Riley ready to throw down against all of the soldier boys in the room to make sure Spike and Joyce got out of there.
"Faith…" Spike warned drawing out her name. He never didn't want to freak Joyce or Buffy out. Never the less he didn't want to remind Joyce of the possibility of that kind of future.
He was doing all of this to make sure it didn't to begin with.
"No! I'm not backing down. Not until Captain Boring over here chills out and steps back."
Spike couldn't help but smirk at the nickname he had called Buffy's boy that Faith had apparently picked up.
"Faith? Your Faith?!" Riley turned white as he realized exactly why the girl had seemed familiar.
"Riley you listen here young man…I will not have you take Spike anywhere! You're the one's that put that thing in his head to make sure he can't bite anyone!" Joyce said as she got right in front of Riley.
Riley felt himself backing up as Buffy's mom advanced. "And I am not about to leave him here to let you do whatever else you had planned for him since he was smart enough to escape from you the first time!"
"Mom!" Buffy was wide eyed as she watched her mother back Riley up against the wall. Watching her mother turn all aggressive for Spike freaking her out more than what Faith had just said. Because really...she blocked most of what Faith said out.
Spike was smiling widely in his normal face as he watched Joyce stand up for him, which never in a million years would he had thought would ever happen.
In love with Buffy or not, Joyce knew he was a vampire – knew he was a demon – and here she was defending him.
Made him beyond happy.
Inside he was rejoicing.
He laughed out with his loud cackle at his own pun.
Of course that made everyone turn and look at him.
Immediately his smile fell and he found his anger once more as he saw the soldiers in his peripheral vision become twitchy with their rifles.
"Agent Finn please don't upset Mrs. Summers. From her scans…" The doctor began making Finn flinch as he had listened to the doctor's prognosis.
"Come on mum. I'll get you home. I'll be bringing her by for her visits with the doc over there…and whatever treatment you're going to give her." Spike said as he moved towards Joyce as he saw the little waver in her stance and he quickly scooped her up before she fell backwards into Buffy.
"I got you mum." Spike said as he began carrying her towards the exit at Lowell House.
Buffy said nothing but shared a look with Riley. Riley nodded his head, understanding that they would talk later.
Faith followed Spike as he carried Joyce, her eyes taking stalk of all of the soldiers around them.
Her thoughts along the lines of 'How the hell did Buffy get involve with these creeps?'
The walk home was filled with a non ending struggle between Spike and Joyce.
Joyce continuously saying that she could walk and Spike refusing to even let her place a foot on the ground.
Faith would throw in a joke to make the two laugh which in turn left a smile on her own face.
Buffy watched all this at a complete loss of 'what the hell is happening' resounding in her head.
The way that they were acting was…it was just…it was wrong. It was all wrong.
The way Faith was suddenly one of her mom's best friends. The way her mom kept laughing at Spike when he didn't listen to her.
The way Spike and Faith shared looks!
It was when the arrived home and Faith went upstairs into the hall closet and then back down with a blanket as Spike placed her on the couch that she noticed the home that she had spent her teenage years in…showed signs of someone else besides her mother living there.
A teeshirt that she remembered Faith wearing from a year ago was folded on the dining room table and Buffy knew immediately that while everyone had thought Faith had been gone…she had instead been hiding in the one place Buffy never would have thought to look.
Her own home.
Buffy held back her anger, and the feeling of being deceived as she watched the man she had been dreaming of for weeks adjust the pillows behind her mother's head.
Something in her was fighting to run and touch him as he smiled a real genuine smile at her mother.
For now she fisted her hands and stayed still. Not expecting what would happen in the next few minutes.
Author's Note: Soooo...what do you think?!